College and Career Planning Counselor Training

1. Counselor Training for College and Career Planning FINANCIAL Aid Overview

2. Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Our missionis to pledge support to professional activities and communications in all areas concerned with the administration of student educational financing programs • Upcoming Events • College Goal Kentucky, various dates/sites statewide

3. College Goal Kentucky Various Sites throughout the state. https://www.facebook.com/KASFAACGK www.kasfaa.com/collegegoalky

4. Sources of Financial Aid • Federal government • State government • Institutional • Private sources

5. Federal Aid Programs • Aid awarded primarily on the basis of financial need • Students must apply every year using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

6. Federal Pell Grant • Need-based grant • Available to undergraduate students who have not received a bachelor’s or first professional degree (exception for teacher certification students) • Maximum award usage is 600% or equivalent of 6 years

7. TEACH Grant • Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant • For undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate students who are/will be taking course work necessary to become elementary or secondary teachers • Must attend a participating college and meet certain academic achievement requirements • Must agree to serve, for a minimum of four years (within eight years of completing academic program), as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a school that serves low-income students or TEACH Grant reverts to student loan • Not all schools participate in this program

8. Campus-Based Aid • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) • Federal Work-Study • Awarded by schools on a “first come, first served” basis within guidelines for each program

9. Federal Work-study • Undergraduate and graduate students • Need-based, part-time employment • No minimum or maximum award • May look at willingness to work • Must pay at least federal minimum wage • The program encourages community service work and work related to the recipient's course of study.

10. Federal Direct Stafford Student Loans • Loan application is the FAFSA • Student borrows from and repays to federal government • School facilitates loan process • Annual and aggregate borrowing limits • Amounts increase for subsequent years of study, with higher amounts for graduate students. • In-school deferment • Six month post-enrollment grace period • Low, fixed interest rates • Subsidized: 3.76% • Unsubsidized: 3.76% • Various repayment options available to students entering repayment

11. Federal Direct PLUS Loans • Parents of dependent undergraduate students may apply for the Parent PLUS loan • Graduate or professional students may apply for the Graduate PLUS loan • PLUS loans require approval based on credit • Interest rate: 6.31%

12. Institutional Aid • Differs from one college to another • Contact colleges directly when applying • Apply early • Submit polished applications • Respond promptly to offers

13. Private Sources • Foundations and professional organizations in the student’s field of study • Local businesses and employers • Community organizations and civic groups • Religious groups • Ethnicity-based groups

14. FREE Online Scholarship Search Engines • www.kheaa.com • www.finaid.org • www.collegeboard.com • www.fastweb.com • www.studentaid.ed.gov

15. Federal Student Aid ID (FSAID) • Students and parents of dependent students must have an FSA ID to complete FAFSA on the Web

16. FAFSA on the Web • Website: www.fafsa.gov • 2017-2018 FAFSA will be available for applicants to fill out beginning on Oct. 1, 2016

17. FAFSA on the Web • 2017-2018 FAFSA will request information from applicants’ 2015 tax returns. • Traditionally, the FAFSA has requested information from the tax return due near the beginning of the applicants cycle. • 2015-2016: tax information - 2014 • 2016-2017: tax information - 2015 • 2017-2018: tax information - 2015 • 2018-2019: tax information - 2016 Prior – Prior Year

18. FAFSA on the Web Reason for the change: • Applicants will no longer need to estimate income and tax information and will be able to retrieve their data directly from the IRS, right form the first day the 2017-2018 FAFSA is available. • Students also will have information about their Expected Family Contribution earlier, helping them as they’re going through the college application and selection process.

19. Application Process • Student completes FAFSA • FAFSA results are transmitted to the school(s) listed on the FAFSA • School uses the EFC amount to determine eligibility for financial aid • School communicates eligibility to the student through an award “package”

20. FAFSA on the Web • Will students receive aid offers earlier if they apply earlier? • Not necessarily; some schools will make offers earlier; others won’t • Collegescorecard.ed.gov allows for cost comparison of schools based on averages • REMEMBER; early aid offers will likely be estimates

21. Verification For verification of information on FAFSA, student/parent may be asked to provide the school with : • Federal tax return transcript • Transcript may be obtained by contacting IRS online at www.irs.gov • Must have some type of credit account to create an account. (Car loan, mortgage, credit card..etc.)

22. IRS Data Retrieval Families are STRONGLY encouraged to use IRS Data Retrieval process to import tax information directly from the IRS database into the FAFSA Prompts in the tax information section of the FAFSA on the Web will guide student/parent through IRS data retrieval option

23. Definition of “parent” for parental data on FAFSA • The following people are not parents and should not provide FAFSA data except in cases of adoption: • grandparents • foster parents • legal guardians • older brothers or sisters • uncles or aunts

24. Dependency Status:Criteria for Independent Students At least 24 years of age on or before December 31st of the award year Graduate or professional student Married Has children or dependents other than a spouse for whom the student provides more than half support Serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for other than training purposes Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces Orphan (i.e. both parents are deceased) or is a ward/dependent of the court, or was a ward/dependent of the court until age 18 Emancipated minors or in legal guardianship as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in the applicant's state of legal residence Unaccompanied youth who is homeless or at risk of homelessness and is self-supporting

25. Dependency Override forSpecial Circumstances • If the student has no contact with a parent and is unable to provide parental data on the FAFSA, a review of special circumstance may be done • Examples of special circumstances for professional judgment may include, but are not limited to: • Parent(s) are incarcerated • Whereabouts of parents unknown • Student left home due to an abusive situation • Financial aid office requires documentation for such situation

26. FinancialAidToolkit.ed.gov • This site specifically designed for you, the school counselor or college access mentor. The toolkit consolidate Federal Student Aid resources into a searchable online database intended for use by organizations and individuals who interact with, support, or counsel students and families on making financial preparations for post secondary education.

27. Materials & Resources for Outreach Federal Student Aid’s YouTube Page Social Media • Twitter.com/FAFSA • Facebook.com/ FederalStudentAid • YouTube.com/ FederalStudentAid

28. FAFSA4casterhttps://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1FAFSA4casterhttps://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1 • Early start on the financial aid process • Provides early estimate of eligibility for federal aid based on current laws and student information • Helps families begin the financial planning process for college • Reduce time to file FAFSA as information will pre-populate from FAFSA4caster when filing FAFSA on the Web

29. Federal Student Aid Contact Info Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) • Toll-free number for questions about federal student aid 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) • TTY (for the hearing impaired) 1-800-730-8913 • E-mail: fsa.customer.support@ed.gov

30. Questions

31. Thanks to our workshop sponsors! Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (KASFAA) Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) ACT, Inc. Kentucky Office of Employment and Training Gateway’s Foundation